Donald Trump was sentenced in New York on Friday, capping a long and, at times, embarrassing ordeal that saw him become the first ex-president to be criminally convicted.

Donald Trump was sentenced without penalty in the New York hush money case Friday after a symbolic – and historic and unprecedented – hearing following the first felony conviction of a former and soon-to-be sitting president.

By the time he appeared virtually in Merchan’s courtroom Friday morning, Trump knew full well that he would face no real penalty for his conviction. The judge was well-aware that we bubble-wrap presidents and protect them from legal proceedings and sentences that could undermine their ability to do their jobs.

President-elect Donald Trump was sentenced Friday in relation to his Manhattan hush money case, cementing his legacy as America’s first convicted felon to assume the presidency. The case involves Trump’s falsification of business records to pay porn star Stormy Daniels $130,

The court’s 5-4 order Thursday clears the way for Judge Juan M. Merchan to impose a sentence Friday on Trump, who was convicted in what prosecutors called an attempt to cover up a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels.

The charges related to payments Trump’s company made to a lawyer, Michael Cohen, to reimburse him for paying off porn actor Stormy Daniels during Trump’s 2016 Republican presidential campaign.

The sentencing in Trump's New York criminal case closes out a series of prosecutions that he largely beat by retaking the U.S. presidency, though he is still fighting to avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars for losses in civil lawsuits.